1. Field
The following description relates to a user input method of a portable device, and to a method and apparatus of defining a vicinity area of a portable device as an on-body input area and controlling the portable device based on a user input provided in the on-body input area.
2. Description of Related Art
A user touches a touchscreen of a portable device with a hand to provide a user input to the portable device. In a case of a capacitive touchscreen, an accuracy of a touch input may increase as an area of a finger touching the touchscreen increases. A touch may be recognized based on a change in a capacitance when skin is in contact with the touchscreen. Thus, when the user wears gloves, a touch may not be recognized, and an input may restricted depending on conditions, for example, due to the presence of moisture on a hand.
A resistive touchscreen is not used widely for portable devices, for example, wearable devices. When resistive touchscreen is used, a touch input may be provided when a pressure greater than a predetermined level is applied. Thus, it may be difficult to provide a user input using a small touchscreen of a portable device.
A wearable device provided in a form of a watch or a band that is to be worn on a wrist has a small touchscreen. Thus, a user may experience difficulty in providing an input through the touchscreen. When touching the small touchscreen of the wearable device with a finger, a portion of the touchscreen may be obscured. It may be difficult to display a menu icon on the touchscreen, which is sufficiently large to be touched with a hand. Due to a characteristic of a wearable device, for example, a limitation on a size of the touchscreen, it may be difficult to display a number of menu icons that are large enough to provide a user input on a single touchscreen. Due to a characteristic of a capacitive touchscreen, an input may be provided when a finger sufficiently touches the touchscreen. Thus, provision of an accurate touch with a finger on the small touchscreen may be difficult. Although a resistive touchscreen is applied to wearable devices, a touch input may be provided by pressing the touchscreen with a pressure greater than a predetermined level. Thus, provision of an input with a finger through the small touchscreen may also be difficult.